Getting our classroom ready

The night before the first day of school is always quite exciting. No matter how many years went by in my career I would still be up all night with excitement the night before school started. Wondering what each of my twenty little ones would be like, excited to meet them and eager to start a new year. I would spend hours planning and prepping my room getting it set up just right....those days are long gone and the reality of me staying home is starting to really sink in. I do have to say planning and prepping my classroom this year was a whole lot easier. However the excitement is still the same, I am excited to see Kaitlyn's face when she walks in and sees the dining room all set up for her first day of school. We will start our first real week with our school schedule, I am eager and excited to see how things go. This week we will be learning about apples, we will focus on:

So join us for some " Lessons on the little stuff" as we begin our preschool homeschooling adventure!

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Our Pom Pom Jar....What behavior reward systems work at your house?

As school is starting on Monday, and the kids are getting back into their school year routines it is often hard to come up with the patience to deal with poor behavior. Here's a quick tip for how we keep the peace while raising a sassy little 3 year old and a giggly little 5 month old. We have a Pom Pom Jar that sits on the kitchen counter (a fancy name for a plain old spaghetti sauce jar) Kaitlyn earns pom poms for doing various things, whether its good behavior or a reward for finishing her chores. She also can have them taken away for unfavorable behavior or not completing her chores. Each line on the spaghetti jar is a reward that she can earn. Last month we went to Orlando and Kaitlyn wanted some figurines from the movie Tangled. It came with 8 different figurines. So they sat on the top of the refrigerator and each time she reached one of the lines on the jar she earned one of the figurines. The jar is not only for earning tangible items, some times she earns priviledges as well. Once we fill up the jar Kaitlyn decides what she wants to earn  next, this month she is working toward a date night with mommy and daddy to go see a movie. We have found that this is a rewarding system for her and it helps her to be responsible for her own actions around the house. With kids it's important to show tangible consequences when an undesirable behavior is displayed, having her take the pom pom out of the jar is reinforcing which behaviors are acceptable and earn her pom poms and which are not. This has been a great system that we use in our home, What do you find works in your household for your little ones?

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The next 364 Days..What will you do?

Today was the first of my 365 days as a stay at home mommy, it was awkward for the first few hours. I felt like I was late for something, there was some place I needed to be. But as we settled in to our morning routine I quickly embraced the finer aspects of being home. The fabulous commute to the kitchen table and the fact that I can teach in my jammies, all in all two very awesome perks! Kaitlyn was so filled with excitement today she was eager to "go to school" even if it was in the dining room. She referred to me as "teacher mommy" and was filled with so much exuberance. As she worked hard and soaked up all I had to say it was then I realized how truly impactful these next 364 days were going to be. Not just to my little Kaitlyn but to me as well. To be granted the precious gift of time, time to listen, time to chat, time to just watch her learn about herself and the world around her. This is what I have always dreamed of doing since I was just 3 years old myself, to be a mommy and nothing else, to have the time to truly devote my whole self to my children and their needs. So I challenge you (whoever happens to be reading this, hopefully it's more than just my mom :) ) what will you do with these next 364 days? Will you finally do what inspires you? Will you take a leap of faith? Will you reach out? Will you make a difference to someone? What will you do with the next 364 days?

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Lesson 1 Color Sorting & Letter Recognition

Today was our very first activity we started off with a few basic skills
Color Sorting
Color Identification
Letter Recognition / Writing
Fine Motor Skills

Here are the supplies we used, you will also need a hot glue Gun and a Hair Dryer (Adult use only)

Step 1:  Begin by identifying the colors of the crayons, have your child pick three or four of their favorite colors. We chose 3. Kaitlyn chose orange, pink and green. She sorted them into three different containers.

Step 2:  (step 1) Glue a piece of cardstock onto the top of your canvas. (step 2 + 3) Glue the crayons onto the cardstock using the hot glue gun. (step 4) Once all colors are glued onto the cardstock place it upright in the direct hot sun. Place wax paper underneath to collect drippings. If you are not in a sunny location or the temperature is to chilly you can also achieve the same effect using a hair dryer on the high heat setting. Simply blowing the hair dryer on the crayons will help to melt the crayons and spread them down the canvas.

While we were waiting for the sun to work it's magic we read a book about how crayons are made. We learned about wax and how the different colors start off as a powder and are added to the wax to make crayons.

After our book, we put together some of our learning puzzles, we went grocery shopping, took a nap......and finally checked on our project. The crayons had just started to melt and drip down so we brought it inside to use the hairdryer to finish the rest.

Kaitlyn learned all about the effects heat has on an object, she can tell you that the sun is hot and heat melts wax crayons. ***Important beginning understanding of how the world works :) After we were finished and the wax dried ( about 10 min) I cut the crayons into smaller pieces with a pair of scissors.

Kaitlyn learned all about the letter K, we practiced writing it on paper, and used our learning puzzles to learn about the sound a K makes by comparing "K" pictures, and tracing the letter "K" with her finger. She then painted her wooden "K" brown and added some small pink polka dots ( found in the scrapbook section at Hobby Lobby)

Kaitlyn starts with a "K"!

Mommy Hot glued her letter "K" on and Kaitlyn added a few owl stickers to her art work....and viola a finished masterpiece.....Kaitlyn learned quite a bit by having fun and now she has a unique piece of art that she made from scratch, I think I know the perfect spot for it, right on her bedroom door.

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Little Cupcake Party

For Kaitlyn's 3rd Birthday we went with a cupcake theme. It was super easy and the kids had a blast. Each guest got to make 4 cupcakes to take home in their own favor box. They were oh so cute and simply delicious! 

PARTY DESIGN BY MAGIC BY MARCY

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Check our newest invitations on ETSY!

Check out a few of our newest invitations on ETSY

 

www.marcylauren.etsy.com

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New Beginnings

The feeling a teacher gets when they see school supplies neatly lined up on the shelves come July gives them a spontaneous Joy. Many wish they could postpone that Joy in order to enjoy just a few more days of summer vacation. But as a teacher its hard to deny, you love what you do, that's why you teach. It's not for the money, not for the fame you do it because you have a passion, a passion to inspire, therefore you teach.

The night before the first day is always exciting. I never can sleep, fearful of sleeping too long and not making it on time. You hate to be late that first day for two reasons...

1. All of the good  breakfast treats and seats in the back go fast.

2. You don't want to miss catching up on the Good Summer Gossip

For those two reasons I am usually on time that very first day!

I always have my clothes laid out and my new calendar and fancy Purple Pen ready in my schoolbag ( My ole Ruediger Girls can testify to my love of purple pens and frilly school supplies). Ah the night before the first day is was my favorite.

For the first time in ten years there is no outfit laid neatly at the foot of the bed, no brand new calendar or purple pen, no alarm set.....because for the first time in ten years I won't be joining my friends on that very first day back after summer vacation. 

Tonight comes with many mixed emotions because so much of who I am is wrapped up in my profession and my job as a teacher. But for the next 365 days I have been blessed with an opportunity to become a stay at home mommy/teacher to my own two amazing children Kaitlyn (3years) and Callen (5Months) Other than teaching I can't imagine another job as rewarding as being a mom. So while my friends are busy ironing their clothes and filling up their new school bags I have put my alarm in the closet and have snuggled up on the couch for a family movie night with my little loveys. Eager to start my new beginning tomorrow and filled with excitement at the amazing opportunities that lie ahead.

So for the next 365 days along with my role as a mommy to my beautiful children and a wife to my amazing husband I am also going to take on the role of teaching my daughter and preparing her for VPK next Fall. Using my experience and knowledge of Early Childhood education we are going to be learning a few "lessons on the little stuff" we will tackle the typical 3 year old skills like letter recognition, fine motor skills, numbers, counting etc. through fun hands on activities. Each week I will feature one or two of the activities we do at home on the blog, I will include some tips, pictures and hopefully some funny life lessons along the way. Join me as I embark on this new chapter of my life as I give a few lessons and learn a few lessons on the little stuff!

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